National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Storm Impacting the Northwest U.S.; Fire Weather Conditions in Southern California; Severe Weather in the South

A Pacific storm is bringing areas of low elevation rain, moderate to heavy mountain snow, and high winds to the Northwest. Strong Santa Ana winds and very dry conditions are producing elevated to critical fire weather conditions in southern California. Isolated strong to severe thunderstorms are possible through early Wednesday morning across parts of northeast Texas into western Tennessee. Read More >

Overview

On Wednesday, December 15, 2021, a potent weather system crossed the northern plains. In our area, this resulted in some very strong northwesterly winds behind the cold front. The strongest wind gust was 79 mph at Wasta. These damaging winds caused numerous high-profile vehicles to be blown over, including a house that was being moved. Bands of snow accompanied the wind, which caused blowing snow and reduced visibility at times. A more significant band over south central SD resulted in the issuance of our first and second ever Snow Squall Warnings, where the high winds combined with falling snow to produce hazardous conditions. This was part of the same weather system that produced severe thunderstorms and tornadoes across portions of Nebraska, Iowa, and Minnesota. Image
Hazardous conditions that prompted our first Snow Squall Warnings.
nws logo Media use of NWS Web News Stories is encouraged!
Please acknowledge the NWS as the source of any news information accessed from this site.
nws logo